Beautiful Encounter
by darkmoonvampire
Summary: While John is severely injured off-world and awaiting rescue an unexpected visitor keeps him company. JohnxElizabeth. One shot. Complete.


Beautiful Encounter:

John Sheppard knew that he had to be either hallucinating or dead to be seeing the beautiful woman standing in front of him. First of all she was dead and had been since he left her behind in the hands of one of their enemies, second he could still feel the blood slowly flowing out of his bullet wound on his stomach and it hurt like hell.

Therefore he knew he was having a near death hallucination.

But he wasn't going to complain, because it meant he got to see her face again.

She was wearing a pure white dress that clearly didn't belong on this chaotic battlefield; Elizabeth Weir slowly knelt down so she was directly eye level with him. Her green eyes held him, mesmerising as she so often had when she was safe on Atlantis. When she was alive and guiding the city into an unknown future.

Her eyes were filled with concern for a moment as she lowered her gaze over his messy and bloody state he was currently in. Then she smiled to herself and shook her head slightly as if a thought popped into her mind that was best left for another time.

"Hello John." She said uncertaintly and barely audilbe; sighing as she was unsurprised he had ended up like this. "You should be more careful. One of these days you won't make it home."

_'Atlantis hasn't felt like home in a while. Hasn't felt like home since you were taken from it.' _He thought but decided to not say it out loud. After all it was a pleasant hallucination and he didn't want to ruin it."I'm known for my getting into trouble and making it out alive." He eyed her appearance and saw that she looked exactly as he had last seen her.

"You're hopeless, You know that right?" She teased.

John had to smirk back at that one. "Yeah I know, and if you don't mind, I have to be making my way back to the gate. By myself I might add as the rest of my team made it through." He paused as he drank in her prescence before saying. "It was pleasant seeing you, even if you are my imagination."

John moved his right arm and placed it on the ground and tried to push himself up into a standing position but his bullet wound on his stomach protested and he slumped back down.

"I'm not you're imagination. I'm really here, well not physically." She said as she stared at his wound and saw that it was now bleeding more thant before. She knew that if hew didn't return to Atlantis soon then he would die.

Puzzled by her statement, John looked down at the muddy ground and crossed his P-90 over his lap and held onto it tightly. Finally realisation dawned on him and he snapped his head back up to see the stare into her eyes.

"You're really?" He paused, unable to get the word out. His mind still reeling from never having considered that possibility. Though it all made perfect sense. If he and Rodney were unable to do it, and Elizabeth's personality and believes fit the requirements.

"Ascended? Yeah I was able to pull it off. I had a little help." She saw the expression on his face and spoke quickly to reassure him.

"That's cheating, Elizabeth." John teased, he thought it would do him good as he had no strength to move.

"I said a little help. Besides I was way more spiritual than you." She smiled at him and he couldn't help but find himself smiling too at her teasing, even if the situation is dire.

A thought popped into his mind and he just had to ask the question. "You're here to help me Ascend?"

She raised her left hand to her mouth and laughed lightly and it was the most beautiful thing he had heard in a very long time. Her laughter came to a natural end and she abruptly stood up and stared up at the clear blue sky as if sensing something she couldn't.

"Not quite, maybe some other time. I'm just here to tell you to sit tight. They're coming back for you. We don't leave our people behind remember?" Elizabeth regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. _Know everything in the universe and you can't even cheer him up right. _

Seeing the haunted look creep across his features, Elizabeth hurriedly knelt back down beside him and put her face a mere inch away from his. "It's not your fault John, I ordered you to leave me behind and I don't regret it. I'm seeing things that I didn't even know existed." She placed a hand lightly on his shoulder and he could feel the strange warm emanating from it flow through his entire body.

"Come back." He whispered and his eyes watered, threatening to fall just like when Keller was informing him that after the accident she wouldn't be the same Elizabeth again.

She tore her gaze away from him, too much pain in her chest. "I can't." She whispered back.

A gentle breeze blew in their faces and Elizabeth immediately straightened up and took a few paces away from him. "Time to go John." She spoke quietly and he didn't know if she meant for him or her.

"Don't do this. Retake human form and come back to Atlantis with me." He pleaded as he tried to stand up again, but a soft yet powerful force was what kept him where he was this time.

Elizabeth knew he was right, but if only he knew what was doing and accomplishing now. As much as it tore at her heart to be separated from Atlantis and her friends and more importantly John, though she never admitted it openly. She had to remain ascended; she knew that Atlantis was doing great without her to lead it.

Ignoring his plea as best she could she replied "You'll die if you move and they're so close to rescuing you."

"It doesn't matter." John was shocked by the sheer honesty and sincerity that had laced those words and looking at Elizabeth she was just as shocked. "I never gave up hope of finding you or that you'd come back somehow, don't do this." He almost chocked out the last sentence.

Closing her eyes, Elizabeth remembered all the times she had spent with him and how much happier she had been. But she wasn't going to change her mind.

John had no way of moving out of her invisible grasp he sighed and knew he was defeated. "Will we meet again?" He asked a little too hopefully.

She opened her eyes and looked at him while smiling her smile that she reserved only for him and simply responded. "Our paths will cross again, of that I am certain."

Then she faded into light and flew high into the sky before disappearing.

As soon as she was gone, a jumper parked a few feet away and Ronon, Teyla, Rodney and Keller came rushing out of the rear hatch and carried him swiftly into the jumper and tended to his wounds.

"Did anyone else see that bright light as he landed?" Rodney asked sitting down in the co pilot seat giving a quick glance at Lorne who focused on flying them back to the Stargate.

"I did, but I do not know what it could have been." Teyla replied as she helped Keller see to John's many injuries.

John closed his eyes and sighed as he leaned his head back and let the good doctor do her work.

Above them a sound of a woman laughing lightly flooded his ears and John Sheppard smiled to himself. He smiled to himself as he remembered her last words, echoing inside his head as they dialed the gate back to Atlantis.

_"Our paths will meet again, of that I am certain."_

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Please review.


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